MLN Newswire - MOBILE, AL - The Mobile BayBears and Arizona Diamondbacks have announced a two-year Player Development Contract, sending Arizona‚s Double-A players into BayBears uniforms starting in 2007. Arizona is just the second parent club the BayBears have had since joining the Southern League in 1997.

Before the 2006 season, Baseball America ranked Arizona's Minor League system #1 out of all 30 Major League clubs. Arizona's Triple-A team in Tucson, AZ won the Pacific Coast League championship in 2006, and the Diamondbacks also enjoyed a playoff appearance by their Single-A team in South Bend, IN, and a Pioneer League championship by their affiliate in Missoula, MT.

"We are all very excited to start our second decade in Mobile with the Arizona Diamondbacks," said Mobile BayBears President and COO Bill Shanahan. "All indications are the new ownership group with Arizona is committed to strong player development, and we look forward to seeing future Diamondbacks at Hank Aaron Stadium."

Arizona previously had been affiliated with the Tennessee Smokies, playing in the Southern League in 2005 and 2006. "We're thrilled to affiliate with Mobile," said Diamondbacks Director of Player Development A.J. Hinch. "The BayBears have a successful history in the Southern League, and we look forward to the relationship between the Diamondbacks and the Mobile community."

"I am pleased that the Diamondbacks not only stress winning baseball, but community involvement also," said BayBears General Manager Travis Toth. "I am looking forward to working with Arizona‚s coaches and players, and introducing them to the people of Mobile and the surrounding communities."

The new affiliation ends a ten-year era in which the San Diego Padres fielded teams at Hank Aaron Stadium. San Diego has partnered with the Double-A San Antonio Missions of the Texas League, and the BayBears wish the Padres all the best in the future.